The list of "nice places" is bang on with Charleston. I enjoyed my visit there, it's one of those cities that you can eat your way through. Nashville (also Knoxville) TN was nice as well.
Best people I ever found while travelling (I used to do a lot of travelling for business) were in Monroeville, AL. I was there over Christmas. Once the people I was working with found out, they overwhelmed me with invites into their homes for Christmas festivities. I accepted the first four, needed to politely turn down a dozen or more invites, thereafter.
Having done both...I'd take a week in Monroeville over a month in NYC or SF (or other 'prime' spots), every single time.
In my travels, I’ve never run into a place like the high plains of Wyoming. The people there carried themselves in such a welcoming, inviting manner. You could feel a difference, far more than I can describe it.
I’ve been to Monroeville AND YOU ARE RIGHT. We visited on a quiet Sunday to see the town of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” We were so enthusiastic over the shuttered courthouse, that a townsman went out of his way to find the curator of the museum and open it up for two Yankees! Needless to say, we bought every souvenir item in the shop and oohed and aahed at the interior where Atticus Finch held court. They made our visit so memorable.
Love Charleston, too!